APPLY TO HOST MONIQUE POLAK (IN PERSON)
BIOGRAPHY
Monique Polak is the author of 36 books for young people and a three-time winner of the QWF Janet Savage Blachford Prize for Children’s and YA Literature (formerly the QWF Prize for Children’s and YA Literature). Monique taught Creative Writing, Journalism and English Literature at Marianopolis College for 35 years. In addition, Monique has done hundreds of writing workshops for young people across the province. She has also worked for many years with the Blue Metropolis Literary Foundation, presenting to both adults and children at Blue Met’s annual festival, and doing educational outreach through the foundation’s Quebec Roots program. In 2016, Monique was the CBC/QWF inaugural writer-in-residence. Monique was also a long-time contributor to ICI Radio-Canada’s Plus on est de fous, plus on lit! Monique is also a freelance journalist whose work has appeared frequently in the Montreal Gazette. Monique’s work has been translated into French, Dutch, Korean, and Armenian.
Home Location: Montreal, Quebec
Creator Type: Author
Genres: Picture books, early chapter books, middle-grade fiction, young adult fiction, hi-lo books for reluctant readers
Website: www.moniquepolak.com
Tour Region: Newfoundland
Target Audience: Grades 4 - 8
Cost: For one 60-minute presentation: $300 plus 15% GST
NOTE: The fee of $300 (plus tax) will be paid to The Canadian Children's Book Centre (CCBC) upon receipt of an invoice from the CCBC. After Book Week, the CCBC will pay the author their presentation fee of $250 (plus taxes, if applicable).
PRESENTATION DESCRIPTIONS
Memories are Stories Asking to Be Told
Target Audience: Grades 4 to 8 (but please note that this workshop can also be adapted for use with older high school students)
Preferred group size: ideally 20 (but I can adapt to any size – thanks to 35 years of classroom teaching)
Maximum group size: 200 (I have presented togyms-full of kids!)
Many fiction writes will tell you their work was inspired by their personal memories. For Monique, memories are stories asking to be told. In this workshop, she will help youngsters mine their own memories to find the stories that matter most to them. Monique’s upcoming middle-grade novel, Wanted: Your House (KidsCan, spring 2026), grew out of deeply personal memories. Even as a child, Monique dreamed of having a house of her own. And Mr. Hartt, one of the novel’s main characters, is inspired by Monique’s memories of her father, who became uncharacteristically cranky in old age. Monique will do what she describes as a “magical” writing exercise in which she’ll lead youngsters to return to a pivotal moment in their pasts, and she will show them tricks for turning this memory into a story. These tricks will include using sensory detail, dialogue, and of course, adding a dose of imagination!
Required equipment: nothing special
Required materials: pen and paper for every participant
Researching Like a Pro
Target Audience: Grades 4 to 8 (but please note that this workshop can also be adapted for use with older high school students)
Preferred group size: ideally 20 (but I can adapt to any size – thanks to 35 years of classroom teaching)
Maximum group size: 200 (I have presented togyms-full of kids!)
Research is a big part of being a writer. In this workshop, Monique will offer writing exercises to help youngsters figure out what subjects they’d like to know more about, help them generate interview questions and plan their stories. Because in addition to writing fiction and non-fiction for kids, Monique has also worked as a reporter, she’s a bit of an expert when it comes to doing research. For her latest non-fiction book, co-authored with Kirstie Hudson, Just a Minute: Why Humans Tell Time (Orca, fall 2025), Monique had to do a lot of research. Why is keeping track of time so important? Who invented the first clock? What can we do to make the most of the time we have? Monique will explain how she draws on many sources when she is doing research, and what measures she takes to ensure her sources are accurate and reliable. Monique will also share her interviewing tips – some of which may take kids by surprise, such as putting away your notebook, a technique which sometimes encourages interview subjects to share even more!
Required equipment: nothing special
Required materials: pen and paper for every participant
BIBLIOGRAPHY
Upcoming:
Wanted: Your House (middle grade novel), Kids Can Press, April 2026
Published:
Christmas Weekend. Linda Leith Publishing, 2025
Just a Minute: Why Humans Tell Time (co-authored with Kirstie Hudson), Orca, 2025
Remember This: The Fascinating World of Memory. Orca, 2024
Open Science: Knowledge for Everyone. Orca, 2023
The Brass Charm. Illustrated by Marie Lafrance. Scholastic, October 2022
For the Record. Owlkids, 2022
Why Humans Work. Orca, 2022
Princess Angelica, Junior Reporter. Orca 2020
The Taste of Rain. Orca, 2019
Room For One More. Kar-Ben, 2019
I Am a Feminist. Orca 2019
Princess Angelica, Part-Time Lion Trainer. Orca, 2019
Planet Grief. Orca, 2018.
Princess Angelica, Camp Catastrophe. Orca, 2018
Passover Family. Orca, 2016
Bullies Rule. Orca, 2017
Leggings Revolt. Orca, 2016
Forensics Squad Unleashed. Orca, 2016
Passover: Festival of Freedom. Orca, 2016
Learning the Ropes. Orca, 2015
Hate Mail. Orca, 2014
Straight Punch. Orca, 2014
So Much It Hurts. Orca, 2013
Pyro. Orca, 2012
Miracleville. Orca, 2011
The Middle of Everywhere. Orca, 2009
Junkyard Dog. Orca, 2009
What World Is Left. Orca, 2009
121 Express. Orca, 2008
Scarred. Lorimer, 2007
Finding Elmo. Orca, 2007
All In. (Lorimer 2006)
Home Invasion. Orca, 2005
On the Game. Lorimer 2005
No More Pranks. Orca, 2004
Flip Turn. James Lorimer, 2004
TRADUITS EN FRANCAIS
Le projet médico-légal. Dominique et Co., 2023
Vois tout ce qu’il te reste. Septentrion, 2022
Béatrice. Saint Jean, 2017
Poupée. Courte Echelle, 2011
Pris Au Jeu. Courte Echelle, 2011